COMING UP FOR AIR
If I was ever alive in a former life, I probably was a sea turtle.
Why is that?
Although sea turtles can hold their breath for thirty minutes to seven hours, eventually they have to come up for air. They can’t stay down forever.
Staying under water is a good gig - why else would they stay under water for seven hours straight. But then the inevitable strikes, and they have to come up for air.
When they reach the surface, they don’t dilly dally. They take a couple of breaths, and they are gone. They dive for another round of the good turtle life.
For the past seventy-two years I have been doing the sea turtle maneuver. I come up for air every couple of weeks, months, or years - I take a quick look around - and then I dive for the good life down under.
My submersible life has taken me around Planet Ocean on Exit Only and across trackless wilderness in my Land Rover Defenders.
Every once in a while I come up for air, but before long, I start another dive.
The longest I have been up for air was for sixteen years in Saudi Arabia - but even that’s was a bit of a ruse, because every weekend I did a deep dive in the desert in my Land Rover Defenders.
Even when I spent ten years as a Flying Doctor with the Indian Health Service in Arizona, I did weekly deep dives in my Land Rover and Kayaks.
This latest deep dive has taken me from Florida to the Bahamas, Cartagena, the San Blas, Panama, the Panama Canal, the Galapagos, and Mexico in the Sea of Cortez.
I just came up for air to see if anything had changed - if things had gotten better.
When I popped my head out of the water for a breath of fresh air, I discovered that my home in Phoenix was under siege with a pandemic called Covid-19.
That was a Dang Wangi moment, and my instant thought was DIVE - DIVE - DIVE.
Such is the life of this sea turtle who infrequently gets a breath of fresh air.
I am thinking about getting my shell fitted with scuba tanks so I can stay submerged even longer.
Life is still good here in Sea Turtle Land.
That all I have to say about that.
Awesome music video that captures the essence of what it's like to sail offshore in a catamaran around the world when conditions are less than perfect. David Abbott from Too Many Drummers sings the vocals, and he also edited the footage from our Red Sea adventures. This is the theme song from the Red Sea Chronicles.
Sailing up the Red Sea is not for the faint of heart. From the Bab al Mandeb to the Suez Canal, adventures and adversity are in abundance. If you take things too seriously, you just might get the Red Sea Blues.
If you like drum beats, and you like adventure, then have a listen to the Red Sea Chronicles Trailer.
Flying fish assault Exit Only in the middle of the night as we sail through the Arabian Gulf from the Maldives to Oman. And so begins our Red Sea adventures.
Sailing through Pirate Alley between Yemen and Somalia involves calculated risk. It may not be Russian Roulette, but it is a bit of a worry. Follow Team Maxing Out as they navigate through Pirate Alley.
Stopping in Yemen was just what the doctor ordered. We refueled, repaired our alternator, and we made friends with our gracious Yemeni hosts. We also went to Baskins Robbins as a reward for surviving Pirate Alley.
After you survive Pirate Alley, you must sail through the Gate of Sorrows (Bab Al Mandab) at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. The Gate of Sorrows lived up to its name with fifty knots of wind and a sandstorm that pummeled Exit Only for two days. Life is good.
Although I like the feel of a paper book in my hand, I love trees even more. When people purchase an eBook, they actually save trees and save money as well. Ebooks are less expensive and have no negative impact on the environment. All of Dr. Dave's books are available at Save A Tree Bookstore. Visit the bookstore today and start putting good things into your mind. It's easy to fill your mind with positive things using eBooks. No matter where you are or what you are doing, you can pull out your smart phone or tablet and start reading. You can even use electronic highlighters and make annotations in your eBooks just like paper books.
